Human Rights Initiative Director's Note: October 2026 Edition

Welcome to the October 2026 edition of the Human Rights Initiative Director’s Note. I’m Andrew Friedman, director and senior fellow of the Human Rights Initiative (HRI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). I produce this outlet monthly to talk through human rights and democracy issues that have been occupying significant space in my mind, highlight some of what we’ve been doing at HRI, and present a few articles, books, podcasts, and videos that have particularly struck me over the last few weeks.

What I’m Thinking About

As is the case for nearly all of Washington, and much of the United States, elections are on my mind. I can’t watch a baseball game without seeing a half dozen election-related advertisements that range from bland to inspiring to downright creepy. The styles of the commercials aside, the U.S. midterms and other elections raise important questions about a country’s democratic standing, its resilience and how it handles polarization and disagreement.

Before I get into it, let me say one thing. Vote. Vote because it’s the easiest way to have a voice on the decisions that will most impact your life. Vote because much of the world, and much of the country, can’t. Vote because voting is important and democracy is not a spectator sport. Vote.

On elections:

Elections are possibly the most visible exercise of democratic governance both internationally and domestically. In the United States, the electoral season is all encompassing, including the advertisements one sees on every type of media and the constant barrage of requests for money. Other electoral democracies see similar levels of coverage, though the season is often much shorter.

This exercise is deeply ingrained in popular history. Harry Truman holding up a newspaper errantly calling the election for his opponent (“Dewey Defeats Truman”) is among the United States’ most iconic political images. On the other side of the coin, the photograph of Michael Dukakis in a tank can still cause a snicker in much of the U.S. population decades after its relevance. Nelson Mandela, hand raised, taking the oath of office after his electoral victory in a newly democratic South Africa can still bring a tear to the eyes of those yearning for a freer world.

One of my earliest memories thinking about the world around me is in the 1992 U.S. presidential election, when my older sister had a school assignment to take a map of the U.S. and color the states red and blue as they were called. My class was too young for the assignment, but she let me help. We got to stay up late coloring and watching TV, and maybe learned a little in the process. It was a great night.

That reality belies the fact that they are also moments of deep collective anxiety and uncertainty about the future. They are also immensely complicated processes. This cocktail means they can also be moments of instability and, too often, violence. The United States is not immune to this reality.

I want to touch on one particular aspect of this period: the information space. Years ago, I was serving as an election observer for a presidential election in a large country in the Global South. That election had many logistical and structural challenges, but ultimately, according to the country’s brilliant civil society, who conducted a large-scale observation mission and a parallel vote tabulation, the results announced reflected the will of the electorate.

Unfortunately, what followed was an utter failure of the country’s electoral management body in strategic communications. In the immediate wake of the voting, there were no concerted efforts to explain what happened, any issues or how they were being remedied. This allowed rumor to fill the space. I vividly remember radio call-ins from people who had “heard from somebody who knows” that votes were stolen and faked in ways befitting a political crime novel. Some of those tales persist unverified (often actively disproven) to this day.

Some of this is no doubt done with malintent. Mis- and disinformation, meant to sow disharmony and cast doubt on the objective nature of verifiable fact, are a part of the world we live in and only getting worse. But some is from people simply searching for answers, and in the absence of real, verifiable information, they look elsewhere.

As we think about elections, both in our own country and in others, it’s important to remember this. There is a lot of time between when voting stops and when results are known. This is a dangerous period. Twenty-four-hour news networks are awash with stories trying to fill the time, and flashy graphics (the CNN map is really just the map my sister and I colored in in crayon for the digital era, though Steve Kornacki is a lot more knowledgeable than I was or ever will be) continue to press on what’s at stake and the urgency of the matter. This goes double for social media. The bodies holding elections need to be sure that this period is filled with real, verifiable facts rather than unsubstantiated commentary meant to inflame.

Yes, elections are a singular manifestation of republican democracy, of the ability of ordinary citizens to have an equal voice in the future of their country. But they are also stressful and difficult. They are moments where little new information is available but lots of information is shared through a wide array of sources, some real and verifiable, some “heard from somebody.”

It’s best to remember this as we observe and take part in elections. The amount of information available is not always the same as the amount of good information available. Processes take time because they’re done with care and with fail-safes. Breathe, and enjoy the fact that what you’re looking at and taking part in is democracy in action.

What We’re Doing

Sarasota World Affairs Council: Earlier this month I was invited by the Sarasota World Affairs Council to come down and speak to them about some of the work we do. It was a tremendous time and I'm deeply appreciative for the invite. The conversation was enlightening, and incorporated a wide array of different perspectives. One thing that has been made clear over the last two years is that the foreign affairs conversation in Washington can be quite distant from what it's like in other parts of the country and across the globe. For a future with sustainable support for human rights and democracy, we have to make sure we're doing more to marry those conversations, with a lot of listening on both sides. I look forward to taking part in many more of those types of events.

Trump-Xi Summit: I don't normally use this section to highlight individual writings we've done out of HRI, but whenever there's a large-scale effort across CSIS that we take part in I find myself struck by the depth and breadth of knowledge of many of my colleagues. The Trump-Xi Summit was an example where folks from across the Center came together to think through what it meant for the relationship and the world. I contributed a layer of existential fear that there is currently no major power standing up for human rights, but others spoke to wide ranging elements, from a yawn at the outcomes (with my all-time favorite CSIS article title) to cautious optimism surrounding Washington-Beijing health cooperation.

What I’m Reading (and Watching)

“Is Everyone a Doomer Now?” (Jasmine Sun): "September 2026 was the month that AI safety went mainstream." I was recently introduced to Jasmine Sun's writing by a colleague in the philanthropy space, and she is incredible. The work she is doing at the intersection of technology, politics, culture, and popular opinion is unparalleled. This piece delves into open questions about the growing concern in the United States about AI's direction, safety, and overall value, and the way it will map onto U.S. politics and political participation. Here at HRI we're always on the lookout for issues that seem to be creating new coalitions and invigorating the democratic process both domestically and globally, and what lessons can be learned for wider democratic participation. Sun's writing looks into some of those same vital issues.

“Cubans Are Leading from the Inside” (Alina B. López Hernández): I am truly elated at the Journal of Democracy’s new monthly column “The Frontline.” These columns center a singular situation in the context of broader conversations about democracy and democratization. This piece, by a Cuban historian and essayist, discusses both the unique history of Cuba and its commonalities with other states looking toward transition. The need for a broad coalition, and to overcome tensions and jealousies for a movement to succeed, are international truisms, however the Island’s relationship with and focus from the United States put it in a singularly difficult situation.

“The Authoritarian Future Is Already Here” (Megan K. Stack): In another new series, the New York Times is highlighting “The New World Disorder” looking at “the disintegration of the postwar international system and how countries are adjusting as America steps aside.” Needless to say, this is an interest we share here at HRI. What struck me most about this piece was how it demonstrates what authoritarian collaboration looks like from the ground level. Looking at Uganda, the essay shows how Chinese, Russian, and Israeli technologies shore up the surveillance state and disrupt the work of ordinary, freedom-seeking Ugandans. It also demonstrates how the United States reducing its funding and diplomatic support for human rights has emboldened these actors. In one representative anecdote, a human rights lawyer was given an award by the State Department as an “international woman of courage” in 2024, and in 2025, when she called the Embassy to report violence she had documented, “the message was different. Washington had told the embassy it didn’t give a damn, her friend said, using a harsher expletive.”

We’ll be back in November, but until then, keep up with our goings-on on the HRI homepage and on LinkedIn. If you have thoughts or questions, please feel free to reach out at [email protected], and if you were forwarded this and enjoyed it, please sign up via the homepage here.